Tottenham’s plans to lay a floral tribute to Athletic Bilbao goal legend Pichichi were foiled by UEFA jobsworths on the eve of the Europa League final.
Spurs arrived armed with flowers for captain Heung-min Son to place before the famous Pichichi bust as is tradition for those playing at the San Mames Stadium for the first time.
Son was expecting to perform the tribute before going out to train in the stadium on Tuesday, only for UEFA to step in and stop it.
The stadium is handed over to UEFA for the event and they are in control of all logistics not Athletic Bilbao.
Tottenham officials were not impressed having been led to believe they would be allowed to lay the flowers on the eve of the game but not on the day of the game.
UEFA claimed Spurs were not stopped but informed that the ceremony should only take place when they played against Athletic Bilbao, and not against a neutral team in the San Mames Stadium.
Tottenham ’s plans to lay a floral tribute to Athletic Bilbao goal legend Pichichi were foiled
Spurs arrived armed with flowers for Heung-min Son to place before the famous Pichichi bust
Manchester United made their Pichichi tribute ahead of the first leg of the Europa League semi-final in Bilbao, when they beat Athletic. The tradition has existed since 1927.
Rafael Moreno, an inside forward better known as Pichichi, died in 1922 at just 29 years old. He is an icon of Athletic Bilbao and his name lives on through an annual award made to La Liga’s top scorer.
Pichichi, born in Bilbao’s Casco Viejo, scored 83 goals in 89 official games in an era before La Liga. He scored more than 200 for the club if friendlies are taken into account.
He won five regional Championship titles and four Copas. He played for Spain in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, winning a silver medal.
